Page:Adams ex rel. Kasper v. School Board of St. Johns County, Florida (2022).pdf/94

 muscle mass, increased body hair on the face, chest, and abdomen, and a deepening of the voice.” Id. at 9. Eventually, Adams had a double mastectomy to remove his breasts.

Adams pursued legal changes, too. He followed Florida’s procedure to change the sex on his driver’s license to male, which required a statement from his medical provider. He followed another procedure to change the sex on his birth certificate to male. Now, the State of Florida recognizes Adams’s sex as male.

The social, medical, and legal changes Adams underwent dramatically changed his outlook. His mother testified that the changes had an “absolutely remarkable” effect on him. Doc. 160-1 at 220. “He went from this quiet, withdrawn, depressed kid to this very outgoing, positive, bright, confident kid. It was a complete 180.” Id. Adams testified, “[L]ooking back on my life up to this point and thinking about my happiest moments, the happiest moments of my life have been big moments in my transition; when I started testosterone, when I first put on the binder, when I first saw my chest after surgery.” Id. at 107. “I don’t hate myself anymore,” he said. “I don’t hate the person I am.” Id. at 106.

B.The School District’s Bathroom Policy and Alternative Bathroom Policies Adopted by Other School Districts

There are two components that together make up the School District’s bathroom policy: (1) a longstanding unwritten policy and (2) a set of written guidelines the School District promulgated in 2012 (the “Best Practices Guidelines”). In this subsection,